Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton slammed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad yesterday for expanding his military crackdown against peaceful protesters, saying that Syria’s future can be secured only by a government that reflects the popular will of its people.

She called Assad’s reprisals “brutal” and said they were responsible for hundreds of deaths.

“Treating one’s own people in this way is, in fact, a sign of remarkable weakness,” Clinton said, stopping short of saying Assad should step down.

Her comments came as Syrian tanks rolled into more cities across the country and soldiers set up sand barriers with machine guns amid another round of large protests.